With parking passes going into effect, many Palo Alto High School students and staff are unable to park on campus due to limited parking spots caused by both new and ongoing construction projects.

According to Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson, lost parking spots totaled at approximately 65, although some may become accessible again in the El Camino parking lot later in the year.

“I don’t think we’re going to gain anything on the gym side for a while,” Berkson said. “Now that the gym is torn down, we might be able to [add some] past the fence. We’ll see how it looks like in a little while.”

Staff members with parking permits are able to park in staff or student spots, according to Palo Alto High School’s website, although the designated staff spaces are limited,

A lottery was held to distribute the left over parking permits to juniors or sophomores who had applied for one.

“Parking permits are senior priority,” Berkson said. “There’s still some spots left, so the lottery was pretty easy.”

According to Berkson, although anyone could apply for a permit, many people didn’t this year.

“[People didn’t apply for a permit] because you guys are all busy, and you don’t get around to things sometimes,” Berkson said.

According to Berkson, parking accommodations will be made for athletes.

“There will be ‘X’ amount of spaces for athletes during their seasons only,” Berkson said. “We figure on that being around ten [parking spaces] per season, so they will be able to park on campus.”

The Paly Voice spoke with students, teachers and Principal Kim Diorio to see what they had to say about the changes in parking and how to combat it.